Odd question about Vista OEM manufacturer keys.... - Overclock.net

identitycrisis · 08-26-08

So, I've got the laptop in my sig and I had a question probably bordering on things we dont talk about on this board..

My question is, would I be able to buy a Vista home premium OEM installation for my spare rig/server computer, obviously using the OEM key i receive with that cd for my spare comp. Would I be able to use that same CD with my laptops key to install it on my laptop? There seems to be soooo much garbage that comes with the manufacturers windows installs... its obnoxious...

if this is illegal, or not possible, are there anyways to blast away all the crappy extra stuff not needed in the OS?

Thanks in advance, and if this is a bas thing to ask, I apologize!

blupupher · 08-26-08

Yes, you can use the OEM Premium CD with either of your OEM Vista Premium keys.
Like you said, so long as you keep the original Key on the Laptop and new one on the spare rig your fine.

GH0 · 08-26-08

I am not sure if this is what you are asking but,

You want to use a Vista Ultimate Key to get Vista Home Premium on a different PC?

Well, other then the fact that the key is tied to the version of Vista you use, you will encounter many other problems.

So, no and yes.

Vlasov_581 · 08-26-08

with every vista i bought i managed to use 1 key on 3 different systems WITHOUT any problems

identitycrisis · 08-26-08

im not looking to do either of those 2 things...

I have vista home premium on my laptop that came with it
I have a spare rig with no OS right now,

I want to buy vista home premium OEM for my spare rig, install it with its key on that machine, and i was wondering if I can use that same CD with the key that came stuck to the bottom of my laptop.... Im curious as to if this will work because hp loaded this thing up with tons of crap....

TheFlyingWallaby · 08-26-08

Watch it Vlasov, you're walking into dangerous territory.

@OP So long as you have two unique keys, you will be fine.

identitycrisis · 08-26-08

blupuphur thanks for the edit and rereading the post, sorry if I wasnt clear, but do you know this by experience, and am I making it out to be worse than it really is with the os?
Im just curious if i can get more life out of this thing, it couldnt even play cod4 on all low settings before the new HDD and the reinstall and installing 3rd party video drivers... now I get a reasonable 30-40 on low, and its fairly smooth...

blupupher · 08-26-08

Yes, as far as MS is concerned, you bought an OEM version of Vista with your Laptop. That Key is tied to that motherboard forever.
If you buy another OEM copy of Vista, the disk itself just has a list of Valid Keys, not just 1. MS does not care if you use another disk for the source, it just cares about it's key.
You could actually buy Vista Basic OEM and use your Premium Key when you install on your Laptop (the DVD has all versions of Vista on it, the Key just unlocks the correct version).

Now with XP, I know I had an issue when I tried to use an OEM key on a retail disk (yes it was a legit install). I don't know for sure if it was on OEM Key/ Retail disk issue or the fact that the OEM key was from SP1 and the disk was SP2. I think it was the OEM/Retail issue though, since OEM and retail have differnt keys.

identitycrisis · 08-26-08

So i could use my ultimate retail 32bit cd and install using the oem home premium key i got on with my laptop as well, and use xubuntu for my server instead of vista??? Im intrigued by this.... will this work?

blupupher · 08-26-08

I am not positive about OEM keys working with Retail copies. I read somewhere that a 64 bit Retail disk and OEM 32 bit Key did not work, but have not heard as far as Retail 32 bit disk and OEM 32 bit key
You could always try it

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Odd question about Vista OEM manufacturer keys....

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